


Darkest Before Dawn

by writer168



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-03
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-03-28 22:06:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 14,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3871429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writer168/pseuds/writer168
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Orochimaru never became a missing-nin. The Fourth Hokage still stood tall. There was no Uchiha Massacre. The Akatsuki never existed. Madara never became a problem. What could go wrong in such a perfect world? Sakura Haruno had always been alone, and at thirteen, she abandoned Konoha. She had to run from her past, but what exactly would wait for her in her future?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Sometimes, I envy Naruto and Sasuke. Whenever they cry, feel pain, break down... they have people to fall back on. People that will never leave them. Their families.

Naruto's father is the Fourth Hokage, Minato- a man respected by everyone in Konoha. If not his father, then he had his mother to turn to. Kushina, a beautiful red-haired woman with a fiery spirit and the person Naruto probably got his personality from. It didn't matter if he held the Kyuubi inside. Nobody could ever hate the Fourth's son. Nobody could ever hate Naruto Namikaze.

Then there was Sasuke. He had an entire clan of skilled ninja at his back. If that didn't help, he'd always have his older brother, Itachi. It was no secret that Itachi loved his little brother, and would stop at nothing to ensure Sasuke's safety. He complains to me sometimes, saying that he's always coddled, always worried on.

At least he had a family.

Me, I have nothing. When I was five, my parents went on a mission and never returned. Days later, I was told that they were found deep in Grass Country- dead. It was expected for me to be transferred to an orphanage or foster home, but I declined. I didn't want to be taken care of by anyone else besides my parents. Hokage-sama allowed me to live alone and off the funds my parents had saved for me in the future.

It was lonely the first few nights. Sometimes I would wake up from a nightmare and run around the apartment trying to find my mom or my dad. Then I would remember. They were dead. Gone. And they wouldn't come back. I would crawl back into bed, wrap myself in my sheets, and cry myself to sleep.

When I turned eight, I stopped crying myself to sleep. In fact, I stopped crying over every little thing, then joined the Academy. Through my years studying to be a shinobi, I had always been the smartest one in class. But it didn’t matter. I was an outcast who didn’t make any friends save for Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuuga, and Naruto Namikaze.

The year I turned twelve, I graduated the Academy and was placed on Team 7 with Naruto, Sasuke Uchiha, and Kakashi Hatake. Kakashi-sensei didn’t focus on me, of course. He focused on the son of the Hokage and the second son of the main Uchiha household. A year passed, we were made chuunin, and I was alone once again.

Naruto trained with his father’s old sensei, Jiraiya. Sasuke trained with Jiraiya’s best friend, Orochimaru. Me… nothing happened with me. When my so called teammates had left me in the dust, I had done the only thing I could do.

My name is Sakura Haruno.

And I left Konoha.


	2. Only the Beginning

"Mommy? Daddy? Youw come back, wight?"

Mebuki crouched down and pulled her five-year old in a tight hug.

"Of course we will, Sakura-chan. Your Dad and I are only going on a B-rank. We should return in two days. You can take care of yourself, right?"

"Un!" Sakura grinned. She turned around and jumped into her father's waiting arms. Kizashi chuckled and ruffled her hair. With one last wave, the two jounin left the house, leaving their innocent little girl all alone.

~  


She was in the corner of the hospital room, her knees pressed to her chest, and her teary emerald eyes locked onto the two people hidden under crisp, white sheets. For two hours she'd been here, draining all her tears and wishing that Mommy and Daddy would come back to her. A blonde man crouched before the five year old.

"What's the matter?"

"Mo-Mommy and D-Daddy... they... they'we so cold... I twied to wawm th-them... I-I twied to wake them up... bu-but they wou-wouldn't... Mommy and Daddy won't come back!!" she cried, burying her face in her arms. The Yondaime Hokage patted her head and walked to a passing nurse.

"That little girl... she's the daughter of Kizashi and Mebuki Haruno, isn't she?" Minato questioned. He glanced over his shoulder briefly at the bawling girl. The nurse looked through her clipboard before nodding slightly.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. Kizashi and Mebuki Haruno went on a B-rank turned S-rank and were attacked by a missing-nin. The back up team arrived at the scene, but they were too late. They saw a glimpse of the attacker before he disappeared. His description: tan skin, about six feet tall, pure black cloak, white hood, black mask, green eyes, and a scratch through his Takigakure hitai-ate. Their daughter is named Sakura. No family besides her parents," the nurse said, "Poor girl. Says she doesn't want to live with anyone besides her parents and requests to live alone. Based on the Haruno's finances, Sakura has enough money to sustain herself until she's fifteen."

"Her house?"

"She'll live in her parents house. It's paid off fully. She is able to live there, but we just need your OK, Hokage-sama."

Minato sighed and looked at the little girl again. This time, she'd stopped crying, but her gaze was once again locked on the hospital beds. He could always send her to the orphanage or a foster home, but that would go against what Sakura wanted, possibly making her miserable. His back straightened. If he had to make the same decision for his son, what would he do? He walked to the pink-haired five year old.

"Sakura-chan... do you really wish to live all by yourself?"

She sniffed and looked up.

"H-Hai, Hokage-sama. I don't wanna wive wif anyone ewse besides Mommy and Daddy. I don't want anyone taking Mommy and Daddy's pwace. I can take cawe of mysewf. I pwomise."

~

And here she was, standing in the middle of the two story house- all alone. To her, it seemed like a miracle that Hokage-sama allowed these living conditions for her. It might be hard at first, but she'd manage. There were books in her father's personal library that she could teach herself with, weapons hidden about the house that she could learn to use, and easy recipe books her mother kept in the cupboards above the stove.

But money and the bills...

Her next door neighbor, Anko, promised that she'd help her with finances and all that. Sakura walked to the fridge and pulled out the umeboshi onigiri her mother made for her before she left. The girl sat at the table and bit into it cold, not bothering to warm it up. She took another bite, this time a fresh set of tears spilling down her cheeks.


	3. Ibiki-sensei!

Eight days had passed since Kizashi's and Mebuki's funeral, and Sakura was seated in her living room, nibbling on some dango Anko had happily given her, and reading a book on chakra control. She was grasping the concept extremely quickly for her age, especially since she memorized the hand seals for simple jutsus like the bunshin. Sakura had also improved her grammar skills, now able to fully enunciate her r's and l's. She put her finger on her chin.

"I wonder what my chakra affinity is..."

She hopped off the couch and padded over to her parents room. She opened one of the drawers and pulled out a slip of chakra paper. Putting the chakra paper between her hands, the concentrated on molding the chakra to her palms... and stopped when it turned to dirt, then liquefied.

"Earth and Water."

Sakura went back into the living room, picked a few books off the floor, and left the house.

~

Ibiki Morino sat on a high tree branch, looking through a folder with narrowed eyes.. He was in charge of the Haruno investigation. The missing-nin that killed the two? It could have been anybody. The only real lead they had was to find a Takigakure ninja- but that particular man's skill set was beyond him. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. This was getting nowhere.

"I did it!"

Ibiki stood and leapt through the trees towards the voice. He stopped about a quarter mile southwest and peered down curiously at the source. A child. With pink hair. He huffed and was about to turn back until...

"Monkey... rat... tiger..."

He focused his full attention on the little girl. She couldn't possibly do _that_ jutsu!

"Dragon... horse... dragon! Suiton: Ja no Kuchi!"

A column of water appeared from the ground, nearly twenty feet up. It slammed through several trees before dying down. The girl plopped down with a happy sigh and began to read one of the books she brought with her. Ibiki blinked in sheer disbelief.

"Little girl."

She looked up and smiled.

"Hai, mister?"

"How old are you?" he questioned. Her smile grew wider as she held up a hand.

"I'm Sakura Haruno and I'm five!"

Ibiki blinked again. Haruno? He re-opened his file and scanned through the information. Sakura Haruno. Daughter of the deceased Mebuki and Kizashi Haruno. Konoha's number one interrogator hopped down and crouched before the child.

"Where did you learn a jutsu like that?" asked Ibiki. Sakura closed her book and showed him the cover. **'Dynamics of Water Jutsu'** , he read. She continued on reading as Ibiki entered a state of deep thought. A five year-old girl able to perform this C-rank technique was obviously a prodigy. Maybe one to rival Itachi Uchiha at that. He smirked.

"And you've been doing this all this by yourself? No help? Not even from... your parents?"

The rosette looked down for a moment, then back up to the man. The smile had never left her face.

"Daddy and Mommy went away over a week ago, so I take care of myself now. I decided to be a shinobi like Daddy and Mommy, so I learn Jutus from the books in Daddy's library. I don't want to bother anybody by asking them to teach me, so I do it myself." she explained. Ibiki studied Sakura a bit more, an odd gleam in his eyes.

The child was young, had a large work ethic, impressive intelligence...

"Kids like you don't come across every generation." said Ibiki, reaching the other book the girl brought with her and flipping through the pages, "And you mind your manners well, not like others your age who're brats that don't know what to do with themselves. So I'll offer you a proposition. Since you've got the potential, I, Ibiki Morino, would like to become your teacher."

Sakura picked up her two books and grinned.

"No thank you, Morino-san."

And she walked away. Ibiki stared at the now empty area at a loss of words.

_'Did she... did she just...?'_

He threw his head back and laughed.

~

Sakura was back in her house atop a stool- carefully storing the books away. She couldn't help but let out another giggle.

Someone knocked on the door.

The girl hopped down, trotted over to the door, and greeted the person with a wide smile.

"Hi again, Morino-san! How have you been?" Sakura exclaimed, a cheeky grin on her chubby face. She opened the door completely and let the man in. She then skipped to the kitchen, pulled out a stool, and began making some tea.

Ibiki stared at the small girl in amazement and slight annoyance. One: He got rejected by a flippin' five year old. Two: _He got rejected by a flippin' five year old._ Three: She was all alone... and yet she didn't seem fazed in the slightest. Sakura placed two ceramic tea cups on the table and sat opposite the interrogator. Ibiki couldn't help but notice that the smile had never left her face.

It didn't seem completely... real- he could tell that much. He watched as her small hands clasped her tea cup and carefully lifted it to her lips. She didn't look distressed from her parents death. No dark circles under her eyes showing that she didn't get enough sleep. How can a child be this unaffected? Well, he knew the answer to that question. Children saw the world differently from an adult's eyes. And there's no telling what could be going through her mind this very moment. Ibiki rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward.

"So, kid. You gonna tell me why you so blatantly rejected me as your sensei?" he questioned. Sakura giggled.

"Nope!"

Ibiki's eye twitched a few times before he took a gulp of tea, earning himself a small chuckle from the girl. He asked a few more questions about her family, her training, and her studying. Sakura answered them all truthfully and cheerfully, like the interrogator had expected. He regarded her curiously as she talked about what she learned in her late father's books. He had to admit, she surprised him.

And no one surprises Ibiki Morino. Ibiki was a man that had seen many things through his years as an interrogator. One thing he hadn't expected to see was himself being bested by a munchkin literally fifteen years younger than him. Finally, he set his tea cup down, and stared at Sakura with unreadable eyes.

"You, Sakura Haruno, are a girl of five years who lost her parents just over a week ago. When you talk about them, you aren't sad that they're gone, nor are you upset that you'll never see them again. At your young age, I expected you to be at least a bit disheartened, but yet you continue on your days like living is the best thing that ever happened to you, and I'd really like to know why."

The rosette smiled up at him once more.

"Just because I don't look sad doesn't mean that I don't feel like dying on the inside. I miss Mommy and Daddy a lot. And I hate that Takigakure ninja."

His eyes widened drastically.

"And when I find the man who took Mommy and Daddy away..."

Emerald eyes glinted darkly, causing Ibiki's jaw to unhinge. Her smile grew wider.

"I'll make him suffer."

~

Paper was scattered all over the head interrogator's desk, but he himself paid no mind to it. He was too preoccupied by what he witnessed and hour ago.

_"And when I find out who took Mommy and Daddy away... I'll make him suffer."_

That girl was more disturbed than she let on. Ibiki reclined in his seat with a sigh as he folded his arms behind his head. Sakura Haruno was the most intriguing child he had ever met. She was so young and probably didn't deserve what had just happened to her. Ibiki smirked.

_'I should help her, shouldn't I?'_

~

A week had passed. And everyday since that encounter, Ibiki had visited Sakura, stayed for half an hour or so, then would leave to return at the same time the next day. It was all the same for the girl as well. She'd happily let Ibiki in, talk about what she read or what happened around town, decline the man's offer of apprenticeship (which ticked him off each time), and smile and wave when he left.

And she didn't snap once.

_'The kid's really different. A little messed up in the head, but nothing I can't work with.'_ Ibiki thought as he walked the perimeter of Konoha. Just as he was about to finish his round, he spotted Sakura hanging upside down with her face buried in a book.

"Oi, kid. You'll pass out when all that blood rushes to your head."

Sakura peered over the blue hardback and immediately brightened.

"Morino-san!" she exclaimed. She unhinged her legs from the branch and flipped downwards. Clutching the book to her chest, she trotted to the head interrogator with a bubbly smile. "What have you been up to today?"

"Nothing, really. I just about finished patrols and was heading to the Interrogation Building."

"Can I come with you, Morino-san?"

"Sure."

The rosette followed behind like a little duckling to her mother. Once in the building, ANBU blinked at the sight. They had seen the girl and the interrogator times before yet it was still strange. Once Ibiki came to his office door, he peered down at his small follower.

"Stay here, Sakura. I need to take care of some things and it won't take long at all." he said. Sakura smiled at him before plopping down on the floor and poking her nose into a book. Every time a ninja would pass by, she'd wave or send a widespread grin. One of the friends she made, Tenzou, sat beside her.

"Nice to see you again, Sakura-chan. Waiting around for Ibiki-san again?" he greeted.

"Hai, Tenzou-san! But what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on duty?"

The brown-haired man scratched his cheek, sending a sheepish grin the five year-old's way.

"Sometimes we need a break, you know? Sometimes our chakra reserves run low... Sometimes we get temporarily taken off the roster... Sometimes we get hit by a powerful jutsu that caused internal bleeding and made the victim take it easy for a few days..."

Sakura sent the man an exasperated look.

"I told you to be careful, Tenzou-san!" she exclaimed with an annoyed pout. He chuckled and tousled her hair.

~

"Konohagakure? What could I possibly do there?" the grass ninja questioned curiously, "They aren't our direct enemies, are they? We haven't made contact with them."

Noboru, Kusagakure's village leader, regarded one of his most esteemed ANBU with a soft smirk.

"They haven't been any trouble, but we can't be too careless. Konoha has very strong clans within them which they can order to their willing. Their Hokage is a smart man as well, not to mention their possession of the Kyuubi. To put it simply, they're very dangerous, and their actions need to be monitored from time to time. You can accomplish this mission, cant' you?"

"Of course, Noboru-sama. _**Who the hell do you think I am?**_ "

~

"Go back to the hospital, Tenzou-san!" Sakura ordered, "You shouldn't be walking around with internal bleeding!"

Tenzou chuckled.

"Alright, Sakura-chan, I'll go. Take care of yourself."

Just a few minutes after he left, Ibiki returned with a small stack of papers. He beckoned the girl to follow, and she did so without questions. Like always. Sometimes Ibiki wondered why the girl was so compliant. There were many scenarios that he could've chosen from, yet the only thing to put out there was that she was alone. Hell, the image of her parent's dead bodies was probably still fresh in her mind. The interrogator glanced over his shoulder to see that ever-present smile on her face. He turned to the front and entered a nearby dango shop.

"Eh? What are we doing here, Morino-san? Cutting work again?"

Ibiki ignored the twitch in his eye and the poorly concealed giggles that followed.

"Actually, I have to meet up with a jounin. He's the youngest to ever be promoted. I need to have him fill out a few forms and talk to him about a few things."

"So he's a pru... pro... pro-di-gy?"

"Yes. And remember what I told you about joining me for meetings?"

"Un! Sit down, shut up, but observe carefully!"

"Good."

Sakura looked around the shop for someone that fit the prodigy profile. He emerald eyes finally picked out a black-haired boy, maybe about ten years old, sitting alone and calmly sipping some tea. The next thing she noticed was the particular crest on his dark clothing. She blinked before looking up at the interrogator.

"What's his name, Morino-san?" Sakura questioned in hushed tones. Ibiki peered down at her amusedly.

"Itachi Uchiha."

Sakura's cheeks puffed out before she opened her book and scrawled something completely unreadable. He patted her head and steered her towards the table.

~

The first thing he noticed was that a child with ridiculously pink hair waltzed into the dango shop, the head interrogator of the ANBU sector at her side. Itachi's eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly.

_'How peculiar...'_

He watched as she whispered something he couldn't quite catch, then flinched when she began to write furiously in her book. Not long after, Ibiki and the girl were seated across from him.

"Uchiha-san." greeted Ibiki, "Shall we get started?"

Itachi sent a minuscule nod the older man's way. He accepted the given papers and filled them out with not so much as a grunt.

~

Five minutes in and Sakura was bored. Morino-san said to observe the prodigy carefully, but what was there to observe? Itachi-san was near silent, polite, reserved, and refined. Like an aristocrat. Just the person who tended to keep their emotions in check and had the most to hide. Sakura giggled inwardly. It would be so fun to-

Two yellow circles flashed in her peripheral vision.

The five-year old stared upwards. Her head was still, but her eyes darted about the room. No, nothing was there. She hopped off her chair, put her book on her seat, then trotted out. Itachi stared after her with a quirked brow. Ibiki continued reading the papers, unfazed.

"She goes off like that sometimes." he supplied, "She'll come back sooner or later."

~

The guards at the main gates let Sakura out the village with a smile and a wave as she traveled into the forest. She slipped through the trees for a few minutes before resting near a stream.

"Mister with the yellow eyes at the dango shop? Are you here?"

It was silent for a few seconds before roots shot out of the ground and wrapped around her ankles and torso.

" _ **Oh? It was the child who saw me?**_ I'm surprised."

Sakura couldn't match the voices to any bodies. The area was void of people as far as she knew.

"Your eyes are very bright, mister."

"They are, aren't they? _**Didn't your parents ever tell you to stay away from brightly colored predators? Normally they're dangerous**_ -poisonous, even."

"I don't think dead people can tell me any different." the rosette rebutted quietly. Hollow laughter floated through the air. Not from one place, but from everywhere around.

"Dead? Ah, so even the world doesn't take pity on the young and defenseless. _**Maybe I would've taken pity on you myself if I were a mere civilian.**_ But sadly, _**as you can see, I'm not.**_ "

The roots had grown even tighter by this time. It was beginning to crush her rib cage, making it harder to breathe, and the edge of her vision had grown fuzzy.

"T-Then it's okay t-to kill me..."

The roots faltered at her sudden declaration.

"I'm n-not asking for any p-pity. I'm really a-all alone now, so you c-could say that no one w-would miss me. I-If your duty calls for my d-disposal... i-it's al... alright."

All was still for a while before a new root burst forth, a kunai in it's grip.

~

Itachi noted that three hours later, the girl had yet to return. His eyes bled into crimson as he searched for any sort of concern in Ibiki's face. But Ibiki was perfectly calm. The interrogator finished filling out the forms, then he collected all the papers, as well as the girl's blue book.

"Minato-sama expects you in his office tomorrow at 1500 hours. Take care, Uchiha-san." Ibiki bid. He inclined his head and left the dango shop. The sun was low in the sky by the time Ibiki left the restaurant. Sakura would leave like that every now and then for about thirty min to an hour, but never three whole hours.

He walked Konoha's busy streets looking for a tuft of that pink hair. Anywhere. But she was no where in sight. Next, he checked the parks and libraries. No trace of her there either. Lastly, he checked the Haruno household. He shunshinned into the two story building. Five kunai flung from the right, which he dodged easily. Next came the shuriken form above, then a metal spike from below. Ibiki nodded to himself, impressed. The traps weren't of high quality, but at least they were there. By now, he guessed, Sakura would make her appearance.

That is, if she was here.

Which she wasn't.

Ibiki sighed and set her book down on the coffee table. He looked around the near-empty house. How can a five year old live in a place so... barren? It was void of pictures, and probably everything that screamed 'mom and dad' had been put away. Even the air about the place seemed cold and alone. And it was...

Sad.

~

Itachi took his sweet time to return back to the compound. His father would be ecstatic to hear the news of his official jounin status, yes, but that would mean more training and an extra-long speech on how he would bring great honor to the Uchiha clan.

Like he hadn't heard that one before.

The ten year old stared up at the pink and orange sky. Thin, dark blue arms had started to claw at the bright colors overhead, and Itachi couldn't help but sigh. An unnatural occurrence for him, but no one was around to watch him anyways. A chakra signature was just ahead of him, but he heard no footsteps.

Charcoal eyes slid downwards and widened slightly at the sight. It was the little girl from before. She was clutching her stomach, limping slightly with her eyes downcast. The Uchiha's hand immediately shot out and gripped her shoulder. She looked up slowly, and smiled.

"Ah, it's you! You're the one Morino-san was talking to before, right?" she questioned.

"You are injured."

The girl's short, bubblegum pink hair flopped about as she shook her head.

"It's fine, Jounin-san. I was just training earlier and got a few scratches. Nothing else happened." the rosette explained. Itachi didn't believe her. Bright red marks adorned her upper arms, but were smothered in some type of ointment he didn't recognize. He guessed she had more marks elsewhere but were obscured by her blue top and plain, beige pants.

"...Go to the hospital. The medics will know what to do with you there."

The girl saluted.

"Hai, Jounin-san! Bye bye!"

~

"Tou-san! Tou-san! Can ya teach me a new jutsu today? I'll work really hard on it! I promise, dattebayo!"

Minato chuckled.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I'll start teaching you in a couple of years, okay?"

"Mou, fine, Tou-san. But teach me the bestest jutsu!"

"Only the best." he promised.

Naruto hopped off his father's lap and trotted out, probably to find his mother and ask her once again to make some ramen. Those two were so much alike- loud, proud, but completely lovable. Just moments after the five year old left, Jiraiya and Orochimaru strolled in, arguing like usual.

"How could you say that about my books?! It's art!"

"It's porn."

"See?! This is why you'll never get a woman! You're such a prude!"

"And you're a perverted moron."

"Gah! Screw you, Orochimaru!"

Minato still couldn't believe that his master could be so stupid.

~

"How... only five..."

"Dark red... strong irritation... bleeding..."

"Ointment... applied generously... foreign..."

"Room 301... Haruno?"

Ibiki had heard enough before he pushed himself off a wall and walked briskly through the hospital corridors, looking for room 301. He knocked twice before sliding open the door. Sakura was sitting up on the bed, her emerald eyes glued to the window at her right. Her neck and upper arms were bandaged.

"Sakura. What happened to you?!" the interrogator demanded. He was sure that whatever happened to her wasn't from training. From any standpoint, it looked as if she had been attacked.

"Ah... just a training accident, Morino-san."

"You're lying."

"I know."

He blinked curiously at the response. Ibiki sighed and pulled up a chair beside her.

"If you won't tell me what happened to you, tell me why you denied my apprenticeship offer. It's one or the other, and you have to choose."

Sakura clutched the edges of her hospital gown, her head still turned right. It was silent for a few minutes, and just as the man got up to leave, he got his answer.

"It's just like what happened to Mommy and Daddy." she whispered, "They told me they'd come back safe and sound. But they didn't. What if that happened to you, Morino-san? You say you'll train me, but what if you don't? You say you'll look after me, but what if you never will? I don't want anything like that to happen."

Ah... so that's what it was. Ibiki stood next to her now quivering form and tousled her hair lightly.

"Now why would I do that, kid? I've got no reason to. And trust me, I'll be here long enough for you to get sick of me, that I can promise."

"S-So if you promise that... I n-now can c-call you... Ibiki-sensei?"

"That's all I've been asking for."


	4. Training Day

Sakura was seated on the soft grass of training ground fourteen as she patiently waited for any instruction from her pondering sensei. Finally, Ibiki crossed his arms and looked down at the five year old. 

"How much do you know about chakra, kid?" 

"Well, I know that you need it to live and to perform jutsu." 

"At least you know the basics." he said, "So first we'll work on stamina. You have the intelligence and the chakra control, but the things you lack are stamina and strength. The more stamina you have, the larger chakra reserve you'll have. And the larger your chakra reserve, the more jutsu you can perform. Now run around Konoha until your legs give out." 

~ 

"Aniki! Aniki!" 

Itachi turned around and glanced at the small boy that was trotting towards him, a wide smile on his chubby features. 

"What is it, otouto?" he questioned impassively. Sasuke hugged his brother's leg and stared up at him with doe-eyed innocence. 

"Can I go to the park today?" 

"Did you ask kaa-san?" 

The smaller boy pouted and reluctantly trudged to the kitchen. Itachi shook his head and let out a small puff of air. That boy was going to be the death of him some day. Just as he slipped on his sandals at the front door, Sasuke bounded up to him excitedly. 

"Kaa-san said I could go! Can you take me there, Aniki? Please?" he begged. Sasuke pulled out his puppy-face. Itachi stared blankly for a few seconds before another puff of air escaped his lips. He nodded, which excited the smaller boy even more. Quickly, he stuffed his small feet into his sandals and pulled his older brother out the door. 

"Don't stay out late, you two!" Mikoto called from the kitchen. 

~ 

"What was that you little brat?!" 

"Er... I said that you had big and beaut'ful red hair, Kaa-san, dattebayo!" 

Kushina Uzumaki smirked triumphantly and ruffled her only son's blonde head. 

"That's what I thought." 

Naruto grinned up at her. She took a hold of his tiny, tan hand and led him out the door to the local park. Minato couldn't take him, having duties of being the Hokage and all, so Kushina happily offered to take him. She hadn't had any shinobi duties after baring Naruto, so she spent most of her days a cheerful housewife. And yes. Sometimes it was _boring as hell_. So with Naruto chatting amiably, they walked side by side down the streets. 

~ 

Ibiki looked down at his watch, clearly impressed. Sakura had managed to run around the entire village in under three hours, a great feat for a five year old. He could tell that she used some chakra here and there, but it was fine. He didn't establish not using it as a rule in the first place. She was laying on the grass, drenched in sweat and nodding in and out of sleep. 

"We're done for the day. Do you want me to take you home?" he asked. She stared up at him with half-lidded eyes and somehow mustered up a weary smile. 

"It's fine sensei..." she muttered, "It's a nice day today. Can... Can I nap out here? I promise I won't stay here long..." 

He sighed. 

"Fine. But if I don't see you back in your house in two hours, I'll assume you're still here and I'll coming to get you." 

She hmm'd in response and finally closed her eyes, curling up in a slight ball as she did so. Ibiki chuckled and walked back into Konoha. Thirty minutes after he left, a body emerged from a nearby tree. He padded over to the girl's sleeping form and looked at her pointedly. 

"Sleeping out in the open? _**You're going to get yourself killed, idiot.**_ " 

"Mmm... Didn't wanna bother 'im... Zetsu-san..." 

Zetsu shook his head, picked up her fatigued form, and sunk back into the earth. He re-appeared in her room and gently set her on her bed. He tucked her in carefully before turning to leave. 

" _ **Did we just tuck her in? You monster! What the hell?!**_ Shut up, Black Zetsu."


	5. Throwing Assumptions

Sakura slept for a full eighteen hours before Ibiki decided that it was time for another training session. He waited for her at the training ground, a couple of dozen kunai at his feet. Sakura skipped in, her whole being refreshed and cheerful. 

"What are we learning today, sensei?" she chirped curiously. Ibiki smirked and gestured to the weapons on the grassy terrain. 

"We'll try out your accuracy and power. Over there on that tree is a target." he said, pointing to his left, "I want you to stand fifteen feet away and throw twenty kunai at the center circle." 

She puffed out her cheeks and picked up a kunai. She then stood at the fifteen foot mark and took aim. 

_THUNK_

It hit dead center. 

Nineteen kunai later, fourteen were in the center circle, two were in the second ring, one was in the third, and two were in the fourth. Most of them were lodged 1/4 of the way in the bark. 

"I... have severely underestimated you." he muttered, staring blankly at the red and white target. The girl flashed him a cheeky grin before yanking the kunai from the wood. She had 75% accuracy. And she was only five years old. Saying that he underestimated Sakura was a complete understatement. Sakura Haruno was a prodigy no matter what angle you viewed it from. If she kept this pace, she wouldn't even need to attend the Academy. Her chakra control was impeccable, her intelligence was that of a chuunin if not higher, and really, a rival for the esteemed Itachi Uchiha. 

It was a shame that her parents had to die, and an even bigger shame to see all Sakura's talent be worked towards revenge. Ibiki sighed as he watched her try to perfect her throwing technique. It was a shinobi like her that he had to watch out for. With great amounts of determination, skills and brains to back it up, and virtually nothing to keep her rooted to a village, who's to stop her if she ever decides to leave Konoha? 

~ 

"Tenzou-san!" Sakura exclaimed, running up to the ANBU and hugging his leg, not minding the others that looked at her oddly, "I haven't seen you in a long time! You didn't sneak out of the hospital again, did you?" 

Tenzou's ears turned red when his team members chuckled at him. His female teammate, Kagura, bent down and squished Sakura's chubby face. 

"Aw, you're soo cute!" she cooed, "Where did you find this adorable girl, Tenzou?! You're such a pedo." 

"It's not like that! Sakura's the one who hangs around Ibiki-san all the time and I met her at the ANBU building!" he protested, his face growing darker. Kagura laughed and finally let go of Sakura's cheeks. The pink-haired child smiled up at her, causing Kagura to coo at her more. Towa stepped up to Tenzou and elbowed his side lightly. 

"That's the kid that's always around Ibiki? I thought it was only a rumor." he whispered. 

"She's real alright. I was surprised to hear about it too, but it makes me wonder what motive Ibiki has. I mean, it's not like him to do something like this, you know?" 

Kagura persisted her cooing, not noticing Sakura's sudden sharpness glinting in her emerald eyes. 

~ 

When Ibiki entered his office, a small body was sitting in his plush office chair. She was focused on a particularly thick file, brows furrowed in deep concentration. Her hand propped up her head so that she was leaning slightly to the side. 

"What are you reading, Sakura?" 

"Daddy and Mommy's file." she answered without looking up. She finished the page she was reading before shutting the file and looking up to meet her sensei's gaze. "Why did you want me as your student, Ibiki-san?" 

Ibiki narrowed his eyes at her tone of voice. It was serious, a complete 180 degree turn from her normal chirp. It was that kind of voice you didn't think someone would master until they were about ten or eleven. Deep, dark, demanding. 

"Because you're different than every other kid I've come across. Your short past is gruesome and unforgiving. The way you view the world is that of someone who knows true pain. Most of the time, your smile is fake, but it fools nearly everyone that sees it- that's why you do it all the time. At such a young age, I can already see the shinobi in you. You're dangerous, and I want to see how much of that I can tame." 

Sakura considered this information, staring at the lamp on the desk and scrunching up her nose. Suddenly, she perked up and grinned. 

"Okay, sensei!" 

She hopped off the seat, hugged his leg, and ran out the building. Ibiki tried to calm his twitching nerves and returned to his work. 

~ 

The guards were unfazed as a small girl ran past them and into the nearby forest. She came out here everyday for the past week, would stay a while, then re-enter the village as chipper as she left. They decided not to question about it. She was never a problem, and as long as she stayed that way, it was fine. 

Sakura ran into a denser patch of greenery and sat down, catching her breath. 

"Zetsu-san! Are you here?" 

A lump emerged from the ground in front of her, exposing a head, half an upper body, but venus flytrap additions absent. 

"Good afternoon, Sakura. _**You did something, didn't you? I can see that look on your face. What did you do?**_ " 

Sakura giggled. 

"Nothing, Zetsu-san!" 

Zetsu still wondered how in hell he hadn't killed her yet, and how she managed to wrap him, an S-class shinobi, around her tiny fingers. Maybe it was the way she acted that drew him to hold pity for her. But even if he did that, he still wouldn't be interaction with her at the moment. Damn this little girl. Damn her to hell. A prickling feeling enveloped his senses. 

"Tomorrow." he interrupted. Sakura stopped her rant about her day and looked at him curiously. Zetsu sunk into the ground like quicksand. Not ten minutes later, as Sakura was picking flowers, someone entered the clearing.


	6. A Pretty Lady

"My, my, what a cute little thing! Why are you picking flowers all the way out here? There's a perfectly decent meadow right next to Konoha." 

Sakura smiled at the stranger as she bound some flowers with extra chakra string that she had. 

"I met my friend out here, miss." 

Mikoto Uchiha smiled and offered a hand. 

"Now it's getting late, dear. Let me walk you home. What's your name?" 

"Sakura Haruno." 

The five year old took hold of the woman's hand and allowed herself to be led back into Konoha. The guards nodded at them in greeting in which both returned with a wide smile. Mikoto looked down at the girl, her head tilting a tad right. Even if the girl was telling the truth, it was highly unusual to see someone so young be out so far from the confines of the village. 

"Dear, wouldn't your parents worry about you being out all by yourself?" questioned Mikoto. 

"No." 

"Why is that?" 

"They're dead, miss. Have been for a couple of weeks." 

The woman's hand tensed as her eyes widened in immediate worry. This little girl had lost her parents at this age? That was devastating. Even so, she definitely wasn't showing discomfort if she had any. Mikoto studied Sakura's face for a long while. There was no emotion, only that adorable, lonely smile. She felt a surge pity run through her. 

"Why don't you come over, Sakura-chan? I'll brew you a nice cup of tea." she said, motherly instinct taking over. Sakura shook her head. 

"It's alright, miss! I don't want to impose or anything, and-and I really need to get home to prepare for tomorrow!" she exclaimed. The girl slid her hand out of the older woman's before bowing and smiling up at her cheerfully. "Thank you for walking me this far, ma'am. I can walk the rest by myself." 

She trotted off, but not before giving the kind lady the bundle of flowers. Mikoto walked home, a frown creasing on her flawless face. Sakura... She was such an unfortunate little girl. And she couldn't be any older than her youngest son, Sasuke. Did she live with anyone? How was she faring? What had happened to her parents? The thoughts had clouded her mind so much that she hadn't realized she had arrived at the kitchen of her home. Fugaku, who had noticed her entrance, turned towards his wife from the dining room table. 

"Is something bothering you?" he asked. Mikoto laid down the flowers on the table and pecked her husband on the cheek. 

"It's nothing, dear. Don't worry about it." she grinned. She went back into the kitchen to start preparing dinner. Fugaku turned back around and sipped at his tea. He gazed at the flowers with an uninterested eye until something glinted on the stem. He reached for the flowers, untied the string, and brought it close to his face for further inspection. 

"Where did you get these flowers?" 

"Oh! This sweet, five year old girl gave them to me earlier. I walked her home and she gave me those. Aren't they beautiful?" 

Beautiful? Sure. But what was a five year old doing with chakra string? 

~ 

"Brat. Get up." 

Sakura sat up and rubbed her eyes. She gave a wide yawn before pouting up at her teacher. 

"Sensei..." she whined, "It's five in the morning." 

"I know. Get up, get dressed, and meet me on the training grounds in fifteen minutes, understood?" 

She puffed out her cheeks, annoyed, but nodded nonetheless. Ibiki smirked and patted her head before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Sakura tumbled out of her bed, clumsily threw on a dark green long sleeve and pastel yellow pants, grabbed her weapons pouch and books, and trudged to the training grounds. Her eyes were still bleary with sleep and she couldn't keep a lot of focus. She deemed that she didn't need to, seeing that only a couple of ninja were on the streets. 

Eventually, she met Ibiki at the training grounds. He raised an eyebrow at her disheveled appearance and chuckled. She stuck her tongue out. Sakura wrapped the weapons pouch around her thigh and set down her books. 

"Why did you want me to wake up so early for, sensei?" 

"For one, you're now waking up everyday at five am." 

She crossed her arms and pouted. 

"Two, you now will be wearing weights to increase your strength and speed." 

Ibiki pulled nine training weights from his overcoat. He wrapped them around her ankles, thighs, waist, wrists, and biceps. 

"Each of these weigh three kilograms (approx. 6.6 pounds), making everything on you a total of twenty-seven kilograms (approx. 59.4 pounds). The weight will increase gradually as you improve your skill and grow older. Never take these off unless you take a shower. Right now, I want you to walk around Konoha and get used to them." he said. Sakura smiled up at him and nodded. He tousled her short pink hair and stood up, "I'm going on a mission for a week or so. When I get back, I expect those weights not bother you at all." 

She saluted. 

"Hai, sensei!" 

He smirked and walked out of the training grounds. Sakura relaxed herself and moved around. The weights weren't that heavy, so she didn't think they'd be too much of a bother. Her stomach growled, interrupting her train of thought, so she walked into the village to find something to eat. She walked the streets to see if there was any vendor open this early, and was lucky to score a few sticks of toriniku yakitori at the edge of the village. Stomach full and determination readied, she continued to walk around. Two hours later, at around seven am, she was approached by the pretty lady from yesterday. 

"Ah, Sakura-chan! What are you doing up so early?" 

Sakura shrugged. 

"Just walking around, miss. What about you?" 

"I decided to do some early morning shopping. Around this time, all the fresh produce gets put out. Oh my, how incredibly rude of me, I haven't introduced myself! My name is Mikoto Uchiha." 

She shook Sakura's small hand and noticed how damp it was. She also noticed the beads of sweat sliding down the girl's forehead and the quick, shallow breaths that escaped her lips. Mikoto's eyebrows furrowed as worry filled her once again. 

"Mother, is this what you have been looking for?" 

Sakura brightened at the boy that walked up to the two of them. 

"Jounin-san!"


	7. Politeness

Itachi blinked and looked down and setting the piece of produce aside, his eyes meeting twinkling emerald orbs. Her eyes, as well as her lips were smiling at him, but it was masking something. Weariness? Exhaustion? It was something of the sort. 

"Aa. Did you go to the hospital as I have directed?" 

He noticed the black bands around her arms and legs and narrowed his eyes. He and his mother exchanged glances. 

"Un! I'm completely fine." 

Mikoto brushed the topic aside and smiled at the young girl. 

"Now that you're here, Sakura-chan, why don't you come over for some tea this time?" the housewife invited, "I promise that you are not at all intruding." 

While Sakura looked indecisive, Mikoto gently gripped the girls upper arm and led her towards the Uchiha Compound. She instantly felt the metal underneath and opened her mouth a bit in surprise. The woman struck up some small talk to mask her surprise all the way to her home. Once inside the main household, she seated Sakura down on one side of the dining table, Itachi on the opposite, then rushed into the kitchen. The ten year old stared at the girl in blunt interest, and she smiled back at him. 

"You are not with Morino-san today." he noted. 

"Sensei went on a mission and won't be back for a week. So I'll do what he says and get used to these weights, and maybe even work on my accuracy with kunai and shuriken!" exclaimed Sakura. Itachi's stare hardened as he blinked. 

Twice. 

... 

Thrice. 

Is that what she had been doing? _Training_ with Ibiki? Thought was surely ludicrous and the girl certainly didn't look like much. And it would also explain why she looked so exhausted. She was wearing weights for crying out loud, and she was so young! Itachi was going to get to the bottom of this one way or another. 

"Did you approach Morino-san and inquire him about becoming your sensei?" _And did he agree so readily?_

"Nope! He asked me after he saw me create this really big dragon out of water!" she replied cheerfully. A flash shone through his dark eyes as he narrowed them. 

"Show me." 

"E-Eh?" 

"Show me the technique." 

Itachi saw a mischievous gleam in her eyes before she smiled and leaned backwards. 

"Only if you ask nicely, Itachi-san!" 

"No." he answered immediately. He crossed his arms and glared at her. Just who did she think she was, demanding such incredulous things from a high ranking shinobi such as himself. Sakura sighed mockingly. 

"Then I guess I can't show you." she muttered dejectedly. Itachi went rigid with disbelief. He was not getting played by a five year old. He wasn't. He was Itachi Uchiha, and mind games did not work on him. 

"You will show me." 

"But I won't until you ask nicely." 

"Why should I?" 

"Why won't you? Is your nice bone broken or something?" 

"Hn." 

Itachi thought this was extremely ridiculous. Sakura thought this was fun. Mikoto thought that was was adorable! She watched the scene from the doorway, and for the first time in years, Itachi acted his own age. Mikoto couldn't remember a time when Itachi had acted like this- and she was glad. She was glad that someone had finally poked through a bit of her eldest son's shell, and she could only hope that Sakura could break through more. 

He could not believe this. At all. Finally, after a multi-second stare off, he scowled. 

"Will you... _please_... show me your technique?" 

"Nope." she chirped, "Say: 'Will you please show me your technique, Sakura-chan?'" 

Mikoto covered her mouth to hide her full blown laugh. Itachi swallowed down his dignity and clenched his teeth. 

"Will you... please... show me your technique, Sakura...chan?" 

The girl grinned and popped up onto her feet. 

"Of course, Itachi-san! Why didn't you ask that before?!" 

Itachi twitched.


	8. Destination: Nami no Kuni

A week had passed since Itachi had seen Sakura's water dragon, and he was still in some state of wonder. Especially after her offhand declaration. 

_"Mother, Sakura and I will go to the lake. It will only be a few moments, then we will return for tea." Itachi informed. He opened the door and stepped out, the little girl following after him giddily. They walked for a few minutes before the two stood on a pier that overlooked a large, sparkling lake. Sakura brightened up at the sight._

 _"Now show me." he demanded. The five year old pouted up at him and walked to the edge of the pier. Her hand seals weren't fast, but they did enough to perform the technique. Monkey... Rat... Tiger... Dragon... Horse... Dragon..._

 _

"Suiton: Ja no Kuchi!!" 

The water before her swirled at incredible speeds before it launched into the air. The dragon roared at it's 30 ft. height before crashing back down into the water. Sakura, content with herself, turned on her heel and grinned up at an expressionless Itachi. 

"There you go, Itachi-san!" she exclaimed. "Let's get back to Mikoto-san. I bet she's waiting with the tea." 

She grabbed his hand and began to walk back to the compound. Itachi went rigid at the direct contact, but Sakura either didn't notice or didn't mind. He stared at the back of her head for a few moments. 

"Judging by your extraordinary talents, you'll be joining the Academy next term, correct?" 

To his surprise, she shook her head. 

"No, I won't. Sensei may teach me a lot of things as time goes by, but that doesn't mean I should show all that off. I'll join when I'm eight. It's later than the usual, but it will give me time to train with sensei. It won't be hard for me to catch up anyway. I snuck into one of the classes to see what they taught, and it didn't look too hard. The work was easy." she replied cheerfully. Itachi was stunned to silence and kept quiet the rest of the walk.

_

She was a strange one, he had to admit. Her intelligence was incomparable, her skill was way over what was expected, she was like... 

She was like him... 

~ 

"Ibiki, are you sure about this?" 

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I'll take full responsibility if anything happens to her." 

Minato stared for a few minutes before nodding in consent. He, of course, had heard the rumors surrounding Ibiki and little Sakura, but it was one of those things that just wasn't believable. Now, he had just agreed to let Sakura accompany Ibiki's S-class solo mission. This certainly, 100%, should not be allowed at any moment for any person. But, Ibiki had been an extremely loyal shinobi to Konoha for years. If this was his way of training a student, so be it. 

Ibiki bowed and stepped out of the office. Sakura popped up beside him as the interrogator made way out of the main building. 

"So, Sensei, am I going on the mission with you?" she questioned. 

"Yes. We leave tomorrow. Consider this your first real training session." he said. She smiled. 

"Where are we going?" 

"Nami no Kuni."


	9. The Cypher Division

"Ehh... Nami no Kuni must be really far!!" Sakura exclaimed. She peered off the boat and stared at the passing waves, "We've been traveling, I think, three days? How much longer until we get there, Sensei?" 

Ibiki crossed his arms and stared eastward. The faint outline of land was visible through the clear sky. 

"My guess is about an hour to an hour and a half. Once we get there, we'll find the nearest village and an inn. We'll rest for a while, have lunch, then we'll proceed with the mission. Understood?" he said. 

"Un!" 

It wasn't long before a thick fog surrounded the boat and the waters around them. Sakura wasn't too worried about it, she read in a book that the Land of Waves always had fog at this time of day. Soon enough, they docked, unloaded, an entered the town. The people looked miserable, thin, and malnourished. The girl looked wide-eyed at everyone and everything as they walked. A thrum of fear ran through her as she laid a glance at the numerous shady figures. 

"Sensei... why does this place look so... sad?" she whispered. 

"A shipping baron named Gato. His hold on the place is what's making it impoverished." replied Ibiki. They eventually found an inn that didn't look too bad and placed all their belongings in the room. As Ibiki suggested, and was probably right about, they placed traps around the room. The two chatted for a while over a bowl of stew before setting out to the forest. 

It had an even denser overhead of fog. Unusual fog. Ibiki waved his hand, ushering Sakura to stay closer to him. Enemy ninja were near, six medium sized but one extremely large.. He turned to the small girl. 

"Stay out of sight. If any of them go toward you, run. Don't attack." 

Sakura nodded and hid on a high branch. She watched as seven people entered the area. Six people were wearing green outfits, and one stood in front of all of them, clad in a gray flak jacket, Kirigakure headband, and propping up his left arm with his katana. What intrigued Sakura the most was the man in the front, presumably a guard. He was a tall man, maybe in his early twenties, and was blue. And were those... gills on his cheek bones? 

"All of you, get out of here! Now!" the blue man ordered. 

"But..." the lone female trailed off. 

"Now!" 

The five men had no trouble turning around and bolting the hell out of there. Ibiki took the chance and launched himself at the man. The girl of the group stayed, though. 

"Kisame!" 

"Suiren, I said get out of here!" 

When Sakura was sure Ibiki and Kisame were fully engaged in their fight, she jumped off the branch and crept around the foliage and approached the woman named Suiren. She tugged at her sleeve. Suiren jerked her arm away and looked down, surprised. 

"Suiren-san, right? My name's Sakura!" the girl smiled, "You should listen to, ano, Kisame-san? This fight is dangerous. You might get hurt." 

The tan-haired woman was shocked to say the least. It wasn't everyday that a five year old was lurking around these parts and found around dangerous ninja. When the girl didn't see a reaction coming soon, she grabbed the woman's hand and pulled her away from the seen. Suiren finally came to her senses after a couple minutes of running. 

"Wait! I can't- I can't just leave Kisame alone out there!" she exclaimed. Sakura paused, then looked over her shoulder. Her green eyes glimmered brightly, but she hadn't let go of Suiren's hand. 

"You really care for him, don't you?" asked the five year old. The Cypher Division member blushed darkly. 

"I-I do, but I just c-can't leave him..." 

"You have to. I saw some of his moves out there, and he's really strong. Maybe even stronger than my sensei. Suiren-san, Kisame-san is going to walk out of that battle alive. And when he does, you have to be alive as well, waiting for him." said Sakura. She urged Suiren forward with a grin and a wave. 

"Bye bye, Suiren-san! I'll make sure Kisame-san gets back safely, I promise!" 

With that, the five year old turned towards the battle. And ran.


	10. Conversations of the Chasm

When she arrived back at the battle, she could tell that Kisame and Ibiki were wearing thin. The patch of forest was littered with cuts and broken trees, and the assaults to the land just kept coming and coming. Sakura scanned her sensei over. He didn't look too badly injured, but a deep gash ran along the left side of his face. She then looked over at Kisame. He himself wasn't in any critical danger, save for a few slashes and bruises along his arms.

Sakura returned to her place on the tree branch and continued to watch. The girl couldn't help but marvel at their strength. They attacked each other mercilessly and without hesitation. Even with their brute strength, each attack was carefully planned out and gracefully executed. She hoped one day that she could be as good as they were.

An hour later when both of their chakra reserves had plummeted a considerable amount, Kisame smashed his katana downwards onto Ibiki. The interrogator crossed two kunai over his head and drove his heels in the ground to brace impact. 

_CLANG!_

The impact was tremendous, forcing Ibiki onto his knees. Once he recovered, he launched the two kunai forward. No one was there.

"Dammit!" he hissed. That Kirigakure ninja made a hasty retreat without settling the score. He punched the ground with what little strength he had left. His vision began to grow hazy with chakra depletion.

"-sei! Sensei!"

Ibiki glanced upwards at his student's worried face. He smirked.

"I'm fine... Just... tired..."

He slumped onto the ground, unconscious.

~

Zetsu never thought the little twerp would actually use the summoning tag. Yes, he gave her a summoning tag to call for him if she wanted- but  _still_. He never thought she would use it so quickly. He rose up from the earth in front of the small girl and stared at her with his glimmering yellow eyes.

"What is it that you need, ** _brat_**?"

"Good afternoon, Zetsu-san! I... um... Can you please take Sensei back to Asai Ike Inn?" she questioned sweetly. Zetsu looked to the side and gawked in surprise. That so-called sensei of hers was a puddle of bone and flesh on the ground. His chakra was low and wavering and he was knocked out cold. He pointed at the body.

" ** _You didn't do this, did you?_**  Because if you did-"

"I didn't, I didn't!" Sakura interrupted with a giggle, "Sensei fought someone from Kiri. His name is Kisame. Anyway, can you please take him back and make sure he's alright? There's something I have to do."

The Kusa nin sent her a calculating look, but nodded without question and disappeared underground along with Ibiki's body. Sakura stood from her crouched position and looked to the direction Kisame sped off to. She slipped her pack off her shoulders and rummaged through it. Bandages. Check. Gauze. Check. Rubbing alcohol. Check. Bruise salve. Check. Water, cotton balls, cloth. Check, check, check. Good, she had everything she needed and some more when she tended to her sensei later.

She put on her backpack and launched herself into the canopy. The five year old scanned the world beneath her, searching for any shock of blue. She finally came upon a dark chasm ten minutes later. Peering off the edge, she saw a shadowed figure with an arm propped up on a bent knee. His back was against the stone wall. Sakura jumped down.

The girl steadily approached the figure and almost instantly recognized him as Kisame. Of course it was him. Who else had blue skin and blue hair? She waved a hand in front of his face. When she received no response, she smiled and sat down beside him. She dumped the contents of her pack in front of her and got to work on his arms.

~

Kisame pried his eyes open with a groan. That fight had taken a toll on him only because him and the Cypher Division had been traveling for a little over a day and a half. Then a Konoha ninja decides to pop up and throw shit down. Wait a minute, was the Cypher Division alright?!

"Ehh, you're up already? Maybe you should rest some more, your chakra's still kinda low."

The shinobi unsheathed his katana and held it to the unknown person's neck.  He looked down at the stranger, who wore a cheeky smile on her face.

"Hello!" she exclaimed happily, "My name's Sakura Haruno!"

It was only a child.

Kisame slowly retracted the sword and returned it to it's sheath. He then stared at his arms, which were bandaged. He looked up at the girl with furrowed brows. She nodded at his silent question.

"I cleaned them and made sure they'll heal properly. They're not serious injuries, and the book says you won't get scars when it heals." she informed. He watched as Sakura closed the book she was reading and stored it in her pack. She then turned to him with a wide smile.

"So, Kisame-san, what do you plan on doing now?" she questioned. _He_  should be the one asking her that question. The Kiri nin slung his katana over his shoulder and crossed his arms.

"To check on my team. After that, it's none of your business."

He spun on his heel and readied himself to-

"Suiren-san's alright." came the girl's sweet voice. Kisame whipped around with his hand on the hilt of his sword, and his white eyes narrow, "She was at the fight, I know, I was there too. I made sure she got away safely!"

You wouldn't believe how confused Kisame was. This puny little kid watched the fight between him and Morino Ibiki, then she comes and tends to the enemy instead of her ally? She was girl who probably isn't older than six, and she skips up to him like he doesn't pose any sort of threat. What the hell was wrong with her?

He got down on one knee in front of Sakura.

"Why are you here?"

"To bring you back to Suiren-san!"

"Is that so? Well, there's one thing I have to do before I go, and that's to murder a bastard named Gato." he said with a pointy-toothed grin, "Still want to bring me back?"

"Of course! I made a promise to Suiren-san so I'll bring you back! And if that means going with you to kill Gato, I'm going with you to kill Gato!"

Kisame smirked.


	11. Gato's a Dead Man

Zetsu was not a happy camper. He was in the corner of the inn room with his arms crossed and his lips twisted in a scowl. The brat's sensei was currently on the bed. His breathing was even and all his wounds were completely bandaged.

" _ **The goddamn pipsqueak better be thankful that we helped her. What in hell is she doing anyways?**  _Well, you know her, always out and about. _ **But even in this shady city?**_  That girl knows no bounds."

~

Kisame and Sakura were positioned on a high branch just a mile away from where Gato's hideout was. A katana was in the Kiri shinobi's lap, and the girl was quietly reading a book. An oddball, that pint-sized kid was. She knew he was a dangerous person and an enemy to Konoha, yet here she was. His partner for this assassination.

"Hey kid, how old are you anyways?"

"I'm five!"

Well shit. 

"Really? What are you doing out here with that interrogator?" questioned Kisame. The girl closed her book and smiled up on him.

"He's my sensei. He allowed me to come with him, but I didn't know what for." she answered. He let out a low whistle as he slung his sword across his back.

"You're kinda young to be learning. You a prodigy or something?"

"Hm... I don't think so."

"So why's he training you?"

"I made a big water dragon!"

Kisame furrowed his brows as he leaned forward. He tried to decipher just exactly what making a water dragon meant, because surely it wasn't _that_  justu. Sakura saw the man's confused look and nodded gleefully.

"It was Ja no Kuchi." she confirmed. He stared at her in awe. Her knowing that jutsu and being able to execute it... she must really be something. He then turned his attention to the hideout. The guards left from their posts, for guard change he presumed, and left a perfect opening.

"I'll disguise as one of the guards. And you'll be-"

"The intruder you found walking around!" she exclaimed. Kisame chuckled and henged into one of the guards. They lept down from their hiding place. The Kiri nin clasped pseudo-chains around the girl's wrist, and began the walk to the mansion 'hideout'. The new guards immediately stopped them before they reached the iron gates.

"What the hell is that?" one of the guards hissed, pointing a kunai at the bound girl, "Gato-sama doesn't like mangy dogs."

"Found the brat lurking around. I just want to see if Gato-sama wants to kill her or keep her for other reasons." Kisame replied from behind a porcelain mask. The two guards shared a look.

"Tch, go the fuck ahead. Don't expect anything less than her turning into a bloody mess." one of them said. They stepped aside to let the two in. Kisame immediately pinpointed Gato's chakra towards the west. With Sakura still in chains, they walked towards Gato's office. Soon, enough they arrived at a set of double doors. Kisame knocked once.

"Come in."

Kisame walked in and gently pushed Sakura forwards. The pudgy form of Gato sat in a thick, leather chair. A cigar hung from his stubby fingers that bent as he took a long drag. He pushed up his glasses and stood up. He walked towards the two and peered down at the pink-haired intruder.

"And who are you?"

Sakura spat in his face.

The disguised Kiri nin coughed to hold back his laughter. Gato growled and snappishly wiped the spit off his cheek. Luckily, he refrained himself from smacking her. She was only a child, after all.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself? Just what did you think you could accomplish by bringing this...  _thing_  here?" he demaned. Kisame reached behind him and unsheathed his katana. Without a word, he sliced Gato's throat and let his fat body fall to the floor. Sakura broke her chains and stared down at the dead body.

"Does it bother you that I killed him so easily?" asked Kisame. She stayed quiet for a while before she looked up at him and smiled.

"No."

He had to admit, the carefree answer disturbed him a little. He picked her up, formed a hand sign, and disappeared in a pool of water.

~

He reappeared just outside the village he was staying in. Suiren was pacing back and forth just at the outskirts. When she saw Kisame and Sakura appear, she immediately ran towards them. Sakura jumped out of his arms and watched with a wide grin when Suiren tackled him in a hug. The woman soon turned to the five year old and held her close as well.

"I told you, Suiren san!"

"Yes... Yes you did."

Sakura waved at them before turning around and walking towards the village she was staying at.

"Oi, kid."

She spun around just in time to catch a katana with a scroll tied to it. She looked at him in surprise, her sparkling emerald green eyes wide.

"W-Wha...? Your.. this is your sword..."

"Think of it as a thank you gift."

A look of true happiness crossed her face.

"Thank you, Kisame-san!!"


	12. The Pervert in the Hot Springs

The day Sakura turned six, she received a new set of shuriken from Anko, and a new set of kunai from Ibiki. Oh- and an addition of one and a half more kilograms to all nine of her weights, making a total of 40.5 kilograms (approx. 89.3 pounds). And yes. They were heavy. Sakura was in her room, enjoying a break from training and happily arranging all the items. The katana Kisame had gifted her earlier in the year hung horizontally over her bed, and the scroll he tied with it was unraveled and pinned to one of her walls.

Turns out, it was a water jutsu scroll filled with information and background of the Kirigakure no Jutsu, Mizu Kamikiri, and Mizu Bunshin. They weren't the sort of jutsu that were considered extremely powerful or top secret, but they were a great start. For her at least. She didn't quite understand two of them, but she was convinced that she could achieve the Mizu Bunshin rather easily. Sakura smiled to herself as she hopped off her bed and headed out the door. She immediately spotted Anko who was walking back home with a few grocery bags in her hand.

"Good morning, Anko-san!" she exclaimed. Sakura ran up to the older woman and tackled her in a wide armed hug. Anko laughed and hugged the girl back.

"Mornin' to you too, kiddo. So, what are you doin' out here? Aren't you supposed to be relaxing with the only day Ibiki'll give you off?" she asked. The girl shook her head.

"That's so boring, Anko-san! I'm going to go train with those shuriken you gave me. Thank you for those too!"

"That's like the fifteenth time you've thanked me." grinned Anko, "Anyway, if you're gonna train, be careful out there."

"Ok! I'll see you later then!"

She ran off.

~

After about five minutes of running to the usual training grounds, she stopped at the outside of the hot springs to catch her breath. She wasn't used to the extra weight yet, and it was tiring her out more than usual. She leaned against a nearby tree to catch her breath. Sakura looked towards the hot springs and saw a man crouching at one of the walls with his face pressed against it.

"A... perv?" Sakura mumbled. She pushed herself off of the bark and walked up to the strange man.

"Uh... mister? Are you supposed to be doing that?"

"If you must know, I'm doing research, now hush" he whispered, "They might hear you!"

His didn't look away from his obvious peeping. High-pitched giggling spilled from his mouth as he pressed himself more into the wood wall.

"Oh Mika-chan, what beautiful assets you have~!" he giggled. Sakura puffed out her cheeks. She might not know what this creepy guy was doing, but it looked wrong. Really wrong. So the girl took in a deep breath, then-

"PERVERT IN THE HOT SPRINGS!" she screamed. A collective amount of shrieks filled the women's side. Water splashed around, and soon, it was completely empty. The weird man sighed irritably and stood up.

"Do you realize what priceless information you cost me, little brat?" 

"Do you realize that you're a really big perv who has no life but peeping on pretty ladies?" she rebutted. His eye twitched.

"...Big perv...?... No life...? I'm guessing that you have no idea who I am!!!" he exclaimed. He suddenly struck up a pose.

"I am the extremely awesome Jiraiya! I am the Toad Sage, one of the three great sannin! I am- wait a minute! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?! I WAS JUST GETTING TO THE GOOD PART!" he screeched. Sakura was already walking away from boredom at the weird guy's speech. Jiraiya scowled at her retreating back and huffed.

"Such disrespect from a midget..." he grumbled. Even if she was some brat, he could sense she was something else. He could see those weights that she wore. The girl was a kunoichi in training even at such a young age. And it was enough to get him intrigued. 

~

Sakura walked to the training grounds with a giddy air about her. Along the way, she bumped into someone she hadn't seen in a very long time.

"Tenzou-san!!"


	13. The Legend of Tsunade

"Ah, hello, Sakura-chan!" Tenzou smiled. He tousled her hair gently and crouched down to her level. "I've got a little surprise for you."

Sakura cocked her head to the side and glanced up at him with wide, wondering eyes.

"What kind of surprise?" she questioned. He reached into his back pouch and pulled out three books. Tenzou handed them to Sakura who read the covers curiously. The first read _'The Book of Basic Medicine'_ , the second- _'Rules of Shinobi'_ , and the third: _'Bingo Book: Edition 5.9'_. A smile immediately blossomed on the girl's face.

"Happy Birthday." he greeted. Sakura set the books down and threw her arms around the ANBU's neck, pulling him into a tight hug. Tenzou chuckled and hugged back.

"Thank you so much, Tenzou-san!" she exclaimed. She let go of the older man and stared at one of the books, "But I wonder... is it really okay for me to have a Bingo Book?"

Tenzou scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well... no one said you  _couldn't_  have it..."

The two talked for a while before Sakura waved and continued on her way to the training grounds. The streets were slightly packed, as usual, and Sakura decided to skim through the Bingo Book to pass the time. There were plenty of ninja from all over the five nations, but none of them was the one she hoped to find- much to her displeasure. But one thing did that catch her attention was a particular rogue from Konoha.

_Tsunade Senju_   
_Birth Date: August 2_   
_Age: 45_   
_Height: 163.1 cm_   
_Weight: 48.9 kg_   
_Blood Type: B_   
_Classification: Medical-nin, Sannin, Missing-nin_   
_Affiliation: Unknown_   
_Class: S_   
_Nature Type: Lightning_   
_Cause of Defection: Unknown_   
  


Sakura was slightly interested. Her father used to tell her stories about the great ninja of Konoha. She could vaguely remember the story of Tsunade, the Slug Sannin. The story went that Tsunade didn't like what Konoha had turned into, and decided to leave without anyone witnessing her disappearance. Tsunade took nothing but her young apprentice, Shizune. But of course, no one knew the real story.

  _Didn't that one guy, what's-his-name, say that he was a Sannin?'_

When she arrived at the training grounds, she spotted the aforementioned in the middle of the green field with his arms crossed. The minute he caught sight of her, he strode over and leered at her with his towering form. Sakura craned her head up and stared at him with disinterest.

"Do you need something, Pervert-san?" she questioned sweetly.

"For one, my name is JIRAIYA, not PERVERT!" he exclaimed angrily, "And two, all joking aside, I was wondering what you're doing out here. I followed you out here, and it seems rather odd for a little girl to come to a training ground all alone."

Sakura tilted her head to the side.

"You're a stalker too?" she questioned incredulously.

Jiraiya could have yanked out his hair.

The girl giggled and decided that it was enough messing with him for now. She set her books on a nearby stump and tied her kunai pouch around her right thigh. She twirled around and faced Jiraiya with her arms locked behind her back and a big grin plastered on her face.

"I'm just kidding around, Jiraiya-san," she said as she stuck out her tongue, "I'm come here all the time to train. I'm usually with Ibiki-sensei, but sometimes he gives me days off, and I spend those days training here. I don't have anything else to do but walk around or read books, so why not train?"

The sage 'hmmed' in thought and tapped his chin.

"Won't your parents get worried?"

He noticed her flinch before she shrugged it off. Sakura marked a target in the tree with a kunai.

"The dead can't get worried. At least I don't think." she said. She took twenty paces backwards and aimed her kunai. She threw it and landed the shot in one flick of the wrist. "Is that all you wanted to know? I mean, I'll answer more questions if you have any."

"Not at the moment, no." he replied.

"Good. Now it's my turn. Please tell me about Tsunade Senju, Jiraiya-san. Or really, tell me about why she left."

Jiraiya shouldn't be surprised. The story of Tsunade Senju was a popular story among the people, even if a lot of it had turned to fiction. Tsunade had become one of the most notorious missing-nins out there. Her infamy probably sprouted from how powerful she was and how all her strong loyalty crumbled to dust within seconds. He turned his gaze at the small girl standing a few feet away from him.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked.

"I'm curious."

"Well, I guess it's only fair." he sighed, "But I'll give you the short version. Orochimaru, one of my good friends, and I had been on a genin team with Tsunade. We got stronger, but failed to give Tsunade the attention she needed. So eventually, she grew tired of us and left the village. Orochimaru and I... we've looked for her everywhere. We just couldn't find her. And after twenty years... We still won't stop. We will bring her back."

Jiraiya stopped himself and looked to the side. Sakura though, had a carefully blank expression on her face.

"So you're chasing after the memory? It's a waste of time."

His attention snapped over to her. Sakura stood in all her six year old glory with her arms crossed and her eyes as hard as steel. Never in Jiraiya's life had he seen a child with such a mature, unforgiving look.

"You said it yourself. It was your fault that she left. If she doesn't want to come back, you can't bring her back. Let's say you do. You become so happy that your team is one again, but is it really? She'll be in chains and in a jail cell, and all you can think about is your own happiness. Leave her be, won't you? She probably is content with her life if she's been away for twenty years."

Sakura held her books to her chest and yanked the kunai from the bark. She looked at Jiraiya again and gave him a toothy grin.

"But that's only my opinion. You don't have to listen." she said, "Though, when you see her, I think you'll know that she'll never be the same."

She waved at him and trotted off the grounds. Jiraiya could only stare after her, his mouth slightly agape. This little girl....

Unbelievable.


	14. Fugaku

When Itachi came home early from an A-Class mission, he expected to see his mother at the stove, his father at the dining table, and Sasuke running up to him to give his older brother a big hug. But on this particular day, his mother had gone out shopping, presumably taking Sasuke with her. If those two were out, just exactly where was his father?

Itachi looked around the bedrooms and living room, but found nothing. He walked around the main house and decided to check the large room Fugaku used for meetings with other clan members. Focusing his senses, he pinpointed that his father's chakra was indeed in the meeting room, but there was another chakra signature. A very familiar one. Itachi's eyes narrowed as he slowly covered his chakra until there was no trace, then pressed his ear to the shoji screen that separated him from the two.

"This is your final decision, I presume."

That was his father.

"Yes, Fugaku-sama. I appreciate the offer, but it just isn't for me."

And the other was Sakura.

~

_Forty-seven... Forty-eight... Forty-nine...  
_

Sakura was doing push-ups at the usual training grounds. Ibiki had some work to catch up on and couldn't teach her a new lesson, so she settled for basic strength and endurance training.

_Fifty... Fifty-one... Fifty-two..._

She could be doing plenty more than this, like throwing accuracy or chakra control, but a ninja needed physical strength just as well as everything else. Sweat dampened every inch of her skin and her arms shook in fatigue.

_Fifty-three... Fifty-four... Fifty....Five..._

Sakura collapsed onto the grass with a sigh. Fifty-five push-ups. It wasn't as much as she planned out, but it should be enough. It's not like she was some over-enthusiastic ball of energy that decided to do a thousand push-ups as training- as if someone like that existed. She hauled herself off of the ground and sighed a second time.

"Sakura Haruno?"

The girl looked to the side to see a black-haired genin walk up to her. She greeted the unknown shinobi with a warm smile and a small wave.

"That's me, Shinobi-san!" exclaimed Sakura, "Do you need me for something?"

"Fugaku-sama is asking for you, and I am to escort you to him."

With really no position to decline, the six year-old gathered her things and followed the genin to the Uchiha compound. Like the first time she came here with Mikoto, she received plenty of curious and pointed stares from the other residents of the compound. Not being an Uchiha or a known shinobi, it was relatively normal for this sort of thing to happen. 

The genin left her at a shoji door somewhere at the back of the main house. Before Sakura could take a step or form some words, she heard a deep voice call from inside.

"You may enter."

The six-year old carefully slid open the door and set foot into the room. Fugaku was kneeling in the center of the room. He motioned to the spot before him, and Sakura took it without question, setting her books beside her. She looked up at the Uchiha head curiously.

"I've heard a lot about you from Mikoto." he began, surveying the small girl with a mildly interested gaze, "And rumors from all over the ANBU syndicate. To my understanding, you are training under Ibiki Morino, the head interrogator. You are also of genin rank, if not higher, at the young age of six. Am I wrong?"

Sakura puffed out her cheeks and looked up in wonder.

"Ibiki Morino is my sensei. I don't really know about the genin rank thing, but I think sensei mentioned something along the lines of that." she answered. Fugaku 'hmmed'.

"I find it intriguing that a high-ranking individual would take on a young girl. But if he did so, you must be different from everyone else. I saw that much when I spotted the chakra string that tied the bouquet you gave to Mikoto. And when I saw the _Ja no Kuchi_ you performed in front of Itachi a few months ago." he said. Sakura hid the smirk that threatened to form on her face.

"I did do that, so is that why you called me her? To tell me how different I am from other six year olds?" she questioned.

"Something along the lines of that." Fugaku replied, "But answer this first: how long will it take you to graduate the academy?"

"Half a year."

She was neither overestimating or underestimating herself. As she had said before, she had snuck into one of the classes. It was boring, unnerving- easy. Fugaku raised a brow in obvious surprise. That would mean beating his son half a year. Though, he shouldn't be surprised at her declaration. Another rumor he had heard was that she went on a mission with Ibiki at the age of five and came back, oddly enough, with a katana and a mysterious scroll- nothing that Ibiki was familiar with.

"If it takes half a year for you to graduate and you join in the second semester, I offer you the backing of the Uchiha clan when you enter the academy."

**_What?_ **

Sakura stared at him with wide eyes for a few seconds, just trying to digest that information. The backing... of the Uchiha clan? Just to get her to graduate so early? This was simply unreal. The girl furrowed her brow and stared at the floor in deep thought. The head of a clan, especially Fugaku Uchiha, wouldn't just throw out an offer with insane benefits for her and none for the clan-

Ah.

He wanted something in return. Of course. She doubted he would tell her exactly what he wanted until the time came. For now, it was a game where only he knew the rules. Sakura looked back up at those onyx-colored eyes that every Uchiha possessed and gave him a wide grin.

"I will not be entering the academy anytime soon." she said. It was Fugaku's turn to become thoroughly confused.

"I have already planned when I would join the academy, and it's when I turn eight." continued Sakura, "I know it's a little later than usual, but from now, it will give me two years for me to train with Ibiki-sensei and learn as much as I can. After those two years are up, I will take the entrance exam that will land me in the class where my age group is in- Year Two. I will then sit in class for the remaining four years to graduate with my age group."

"Why waste your time when you can graduate in half a year?"

"It's better to be with my peers, you know? That way, there's no additional pressure put on me. And once my genin team turns to chuunin, I can go about and do what I want. I'd rather have people not know me, that way they'll never know what's coming. Don't you think you'd keep a tab on a person if they graduate in half a year, just being seven years old?"

Point taken.

Fugaku couldn't argue with her logic seeing that she was 100% right. The corner of his mouth twitched upwards. The girl was very smart, far past his expectations. She turned the game board and planted the winning piece. He glanced at her smiling face.

"This is your final decision, I presume."

"Yes, Fugaku-sama. I appreciate the offer, but it just isn't for me."

He nodded.

"Then farewell, Sakura. I know I'll see you more in the future."

Sakura bowed in respect and popped onto her feet. She swept all the things in her arms, bowed once more, and trotted out of the room. She passed Itachi along the hallway and flashed him a bright grin before heading out of the compound. Fugaku followed soon after and stopped beside his eldest son.

"A dangerous friend you've got there, Itachi. Good luck with that one."

His father walked inside the house. Itachi stared incredulously after him, looked back at the direction Sakura went, then back to direction his father walked off to. He wouldn't admit it, but he was just downright confused.


End file.
